Brown & Brown : Everything you need to know

Brown & Brown: Everything you need to know

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. (Brown & Brown Insurance) is a New York Stock Exchange-listed provider of (re)insurance products and federal programs services. It is also among the world’s largest brokerages, with more than 11,000 employees spread across over 300 offices in the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands. In 2021, the company ranked as the fifth-largest independent insurance intermediary organization in the US and the sixth largest in the world.

Brown & Brown operates four business segments, namely:

• Retail: This division offers comprehensive insurance products to various businesses from SMEs to large multinational corporations. Its selection includes employee benefits, property & casualty, general liability, surety bonds, workers’ compensation, cyber liability, and health care professional liability & medical malpractice.
• Personal solutions: This includes the firm’s automobile, homeowners, flood, private client, recreational vehicle, social security disability, and valuables coverage offerings.
• National programs: This unit provides program management expertise for insurance carrier partners. Programs include commercial, professional liability, specialty lines, public entity, and personal lines.
• Services: This segment provides third-party claims administration and ancillary services consisting of its claims advocacy businesses, claims adjusting, and claims processing, including property, auto, and workers’ compensation.

Brief history

In 1939, J. Adrian Brown, an agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, partnered with his cousin, Charles "Cov" Owen to open an insurance agency in Daytona Beach, Florida. The firm was then known as Brown & Owen. In 1959, Brown’s son, J. Hyatt Brown, joined the business, immediately making an impact by helping the company land the contract for student accident insurance for the University of Florida – his alma mater.

In 1961, Hyatt bought the company and served as chief executive officer, a position he held until 2009. During his stint at the top, he helped the business grow into one of the world’s largest brokerages. 

In April 1993, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the firm’s merger with Poe & Associates, which ultimately became Brown & Brown, Inc. The ability to use public stock for acquisitions fueled a methodical expansion strategy based on buying middle-market insurance brokers throughout the country.

Hyatt retired in 2009 but remains with the company as chairman. He was succeeded by his son, J. Powell Brown. In 2012, Brown & Brown achieved $1 billion in revenue. The company joined the prestigious S&P 500 index in 2021, a distinction that the firm says “further demonstrates our long-standing history of proven success and company growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

Leadership at Brown & Brown

J. Powell Brown – President & CEO

Brown was elected president of Brown & Brown in 2007 and succeeded his father as chief executive officer in 2009. In that capacity, he oversees the company’s wholesale brokerage and public entity operations throughout the country. Under Brown’s leadership, Brown & Brown completed several acquisitions in 2015, including the Hall-Wright General Agency, Liberty Insurance Brokers, and Bellingham Underwriters. Prior to taking the reins as president and CEO, Brown served the company as a regional executive vice-president, the profit center leader for its Orlando office, and as a sales producer and marketing manager in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Culture at Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown has a long-standing history of dedication to the people and communities it serves. In 2018, donated $1 million in support of the American Red Cross’s disaster relief efforts through the organization’s Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP).

That same year, Brown & Brown of Miami provided a computer, printers, and bags full of school supplies for children in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica.

In 2021, Brown & Brown earned Great Place to Work certification for the third consecutive year, which the company said, “demonstrates the Power of WE.”

“The honor serves as a point of pride for our team, lets candidates know that Brown & Brown is a great place to work, and reaffirms to our customers that they made a great decision in trusting our team to help them protect what they value most,” the company said in a statement.